Formation of blocks of terra cotta or the like



Septn 7,1926. 'Y A1,599,216-

R. F. DALTQN I FORMATION OF BLOCKS OF TERRA GOTTA 0R THE LIKE Filled Nov. 24, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 7 l, 1926. 1,599,216

R. F. DALTON FORMATION 0F BLCGKS 0F TERRA GOTTA OR THE LIKE Patented Sept. 7, 1926.

omiso *stares Peteur or' Fics. A

moimnijfn. Damon; or NEW' ROCHELLE; NEW .Yo-nx. f

Fonmxmoivoitsnbexs kor Taimay comm ORJT'HE'MKE. y

Applicationmed November 24;- 19122. 'serial No. 692,934.

In the manufacture off architectural terra v that( to produce a satisfactory'l productlthe material' must be sop'ac'led that"` allof" the particles of' saggar or' other grit; are Worked away from the, surface'of the mold; leaving only the linefclay exposed ont'he finished or molded surface' in order toymake the" sfur.- face ofv the desired smoothness and'luni'- form character.` If-have' discoyej'ed that I can 'accomplish this result by delivering? the material by means of improved' process and apparatus, and with theuse of a' pneu- Y mat-ie blast Seth-at the material-fief projette-a or blown intthe mold or against the`mold` ing face. The resulting impact' force or pressure is such that the'i'linut'e"particlesof clay either strike theface before thecoarser grit particles', or are' forced around or in front of such'coarser particlemandtheresulting' finished surface' is of the desired' smoothiness Without exposed' coarse particles of the orrit. I y n In carrying ,out my inventionvtlie mixture or terra cotta body .is propelled solely'by the forward moyingg; action of an auger blade or screw conveyor into avdeliv'ery pipe of substantially o'n'st'ant diameter, and' passes as a rod of clay to the point of ultimate discharge. The material' is not subjected to any pressure except that ofthe auger blade, and that only suiiici'ent' to keep the'pm'aterial moying. This movement is uniform and de'- pendent upon the pitch, speedand,y character of the auger, and may bestopped' at any instant by stopping the auger. The mixed material maybe fed to the auger through e@ any suitable fo'rm'o'f hopper so that the" Fie. 2.

livery maybe uninterruptedly maintained i for al long period of time. Thek Vair is-n troducedinto'the constantl diameter delivery p1pe, andi in such a Way and under such pressure as to cut into thesolid rod ofnroving clay so that particles are projectedby the air-"thrbugh'y the outlet and delivered to p the' mold W'iththe desired force audftoapp'ly the desired 'pressure against the'pm'old Wall or against the material previouslyfde- 'livered' to' the mold. lThey moldj and delivery outlet-'are somounted'in-respect to-eac'h other' that the( mixture may ybe delivered to ahy part of the mold and in'an'y ydesired' di*- rection inI respect to thel face of' the mold.

In the accompanying drawings' kIvr have illustrated' one form ofl apparatus embodying my inventiom and byimeans o'f which my irnproved process may' bekckarried out. y

In these drawings: p Fig. lisav side elevation. K 'y Y Fig. 'isf-afsectionsubstantially onthe line 2*?. of'rig. 1. p

Fig. 3" is a sectionv onv the `line 3,-,3' of iig. e isf af face View for' a suedmeia, ma Fig'. 5.' is' a' sectiorr on the' line 5,-5 kof Fig-i4'. ,A In the apparatus"illustrated there is pro'- vided a cylinder' or chamber 10' open at opl` posite'ends and provided with means for ad.- vancing the terra 'cotta' body or clay mixture and imparting' the' necessary kbut co'in'pa'raL tivelyl slight pressure required to advance' it to the' delivery outlet. Y The` advancing means ,is preferably in t'li'e form of' a] screvv ]{J `Iropell`e"r or auger bla'tde 11 ymounted on a shaft 12. At one end' of; the v'cylinder' 10 there is preferablyV provi'deda receiving and mixing cha'mber'l'vwliich opens at its upper side intoa' hopper 11.1'. v Theshaft 12 extendsthrough the .chamber 13 andy is provided with mixing blades .15 which ycooperate` with pro#V jections 16 on the inner Walls vof the chamber so as to effect a final and thorough pug'ging of ythe'lIn'ater-iafl. The blades 15 are prefer:

ably Slightly inclined so; te tend to feed theA material tovvardftheentrance e'r'idv of the cyliuder 10' and to the auger blade 11 Within the latter.r The shaft maybe supported in any suitable maneuas for instance'by' a bearing 17 within the cylinder and a bearing 18 at the opposite end of the mixing chamber 13. rlhe bearing 17 may be supported from the walls of the cylinder by a transverse rod 19. For driving the shaft l have illustrated it as being provided with a gear 20 meshing with a pinion 21, and have illustrated the shaft 22 of the pinion as being provided with a belt pulley 23 connected to the shaft by means of a clutch Aoperated by a clutch lever 24. It will of course be evident that the shaft 12 might .be connected to any Vsuitable source of powerV in various other wa s.

lllhe parts of the apparatus so far d-escribed may be replaced by any other mechanically equivalent parts, and form no portion of my invention except in combi4 nation with the parts to which the material is delivered, and about to be described.

At the end of the cylinder 10 opposite to i the mixing chamber there is provided a conical chamber 25, the Alarger or base end of which is of the same diameter as the end of the cylinder, while the smaller end delivers through a passage 25 leadingto a tube section or delivery nozzle 28. Between the chamber 25 and the nozzle is a universal joint including a ball sect-ion 29 and a socket section 30. The passage within the ball section is flared so that the nozzle 28 may be swung in any desired direction in respect to the body of the machine without interuupting the free flow of material to and through the nozzle. This delivery nozzle is of uniform diameter throughout and of substantially the same diameter as the outlet from the chamber 25.

Surrounding the nozzle is an air chamber 31 to which air under the desired pressure may be delivered from any suitable source. and through flexible hose 32 or other conduit means so designed that the flow `of air to the chamber 31 will not be interrupted or interfered with by the swinging movement of the nozzle. The nozzle intermediate of its ends has an air inlet from the chamber 31 and so designed that the air enters the main centralv passage through the nozzle in a direction at an angle to the path `of movement of the material through the nozzle. As illustrated, the nozzle `is formed of two spaced lsections held in the desired relationship by a sleeve 33 which latter has a series of slots 34 adapted to register with the annular slot 35 between the two sections of the nozzle. The end portions of the sleeve 33 are connected by narrow bar portions 36 by means of which the parts are held rigid in respect to each other, leaving the, annular slot 35 in the nozzle uninterrupted so that air may enter the nozzle radially at any and all points about the circumference of the latter. Preferably the two nozzle sections have their' opposing ends at the slot 35 so formed as to slightly telescope and thus reduce the liability of clay being forced out through the slot when the air pressure is shut off.

Although the apparatus may be so mounted that the nozzle 28 normally projects in any desired direction, the preferred mounting is such that the axis of the mixing chamber and auger blade is inclined at an acute angle to the horizontal so as to deliver in a direction havingl a downward component.

In connection with the apparatus above described there is provided a mold support by means of which the position of the mold in respect to the delivery apparatus may be varied. As shown, there is provided a truck or carriage 40 having a standard or frame 41 thereon connected by a universal joint l2 to a mold supporting plate or frame 43. These parts are so designed that the normal axis of the universal joint may be substantially in alignment with the axis of the delivery apparatus, but the mold may be brought toward or from the j delivery nozzle and may be tilted at variors angles in respect to the latter. rlhe mold frame 4-1 is so hinged on the carriage that it may be swung back to bring the filled mold to a substantially horizontal position for ease of rel moval, 'and without altering the adjustment of the universal joint. l do not wish to be limited to this specific form of mold support, as various other means might be designed whereby the 'desired and leasy adjustment of the mol-d might be secured.

rlhe mold will `of course vary with the size, shape and character of the article to be molded. Merely as an example l have shown a mold including. a face plate 44 and peripheral walls 4145 held to the support 43 by means of clamps i6 adapted for various sizes of molds. The face plate, as well as the peripheral walls, may have any desired surface irregularity, figure or design Vto give the desired shape and form to the linished terra cotta block.' In filling the mold the material is projected from the nozzle 28 until it has been filled up to the desired thickness against the face plate All and the peripheral walls 45, and in addition there may be built up transverse partitions 17 of the material to leave chambers or cavities 18 in the rear of the mold-ed material. As these partitions are not exposed when the block is completed, burned and installed in place, they may be put in by hand after the inaten rial has been built up and thoroughly comrod-like and? comparatively stiifbodyjoffthe plastic material? will break; off? in" sections after-protr'i'idingv from the-"nozzle, or will form coils and may be receivedfin'i any suitable container andjfreturned fro'mti'mevr 'to time to the hopper lef AWhenthe-nioldlisifn proper position and the operator is'- ready to beginfilling the latter,V the air pressure is turned on and as the air enters the slot 35 it cuts off theclay-rod in advance thereof `and projects it from the nozzle, and thereafter as fast as the clay passes the slot 35 the air Cuts vin behindparticles or lumps of it and projects such particles or lumps through the outlet of the nozzle and at high velocity into the mold and against the desired wall surface thereof. The operation may be continued and the angle of the nozzle, as well as the angle of the mold, varied until the desired amount of material has been filled up in the mold, and thereafter the air pressure is cut 0E and the mold removed. Preferably the mixing apparatus and the auger blade operate continuously and the operator controls 'the delivery of the material from the nozzle to the mold by turning on or offthe air pressure. The solid stream or rod delivered through the nozzle when the air is shut olf may be at the desired rate, depending upon the speed of-rotation of the auger blade, and it tends t0 keep the nozzle clean and prevents any drying or-hardening of the material in any part of the apparatus during a change of molds between filling periods. Further` more, it insures that the material projected into a mold upon the turning on of the ,air pressure will be a freshly mixed portion of the material, rather than an exposed and slightly dry portion as would be thek case were the auger stopped between successive mold filling operations. The force of d-elivery, as well as to a certain extent the size of the delivered particles or lumps, may be controlled not only by varying the air pressure, but also by controlling the speed of the auger. Y

By delivering the terra cotta body to the mold as above described, the resultant action is that in the finished block the coarserpajrticles of grit are found to occupy positions spaced slightly away from the walls of the mold so that the portions of the terra cotta mixture which are in contact with the mold walls are substantially pure clay of uniform character. Thus when the block is removed from the mold for drying, it is found that the surfaces are smooth and require little or no hand treatment before burning.

Although my improved process and apparatus are particularly rintended for use with terra cottamixtures, and for forming blocks to be baked or burned to harden thel same, it will of course be evident that certain features of the invention, particularly material.

i Havingtlius described my invention; what Asecure by Liet- Y Iclaini as'fnew and desire to ters-Patent is:V

* v 1. -n; vapparatusY for fillingl molds-with cotta body, including a nozzle having a passage therethrough of uniform diameter and provided with a compressed air inlet intermediate of the ends thereof, and means for delivering the material to said nozzle and past said air inlet.

vasregagrdsthev construction ofthe apparatus` may? be-ulsefiilfor delivering other: plastic 3. An apparatus for forming1 molded-v masses of stiff plastic material suc as terra cotta body, including a nozzle having a passage therethrough of uniform diameter and provided with a compressed air inlet intermediate of the ends thereof, a conduit connected to said nozzle, and a screw con- `veyor for delivering material to and through said conduit.

il.V An apparatus for delivering stiff plastic material to form molded masses, including a mixer for the material, a screw conveyor receiving material'from said mixer, a conduit receiving material from said conveyor and including a ball and socket joint, and a nozzle at the end of said conduit and having an inlet for compressed air.

5. An apparatus for delivering stiff, plastic material, including a. nozzle having a passage therethrough of substantially uniform diameter terminating at a. discharge Ioutlet of the full size of the nozzle, and an air chamber encircling said nozzle interme-r diate of the ends of thelatter, said nozzle having an air inlet through the wall thereof intermediate of the ends of the nozzle from said air chamber. y

6. An apparatus for delivering stiff, plastic material, including a. nozzle having av passage therethrough of substantially uniform diameter, and an air chamber encircling said nozzle intermediate of the ends of the latter, said nozzle having'an annular slot intermediate of the ends thereof constituting an air inlet from said air chamber to the nozzle.

7. An apparatus for delivering stiff, plaspassage therethrough of substantially uniform diameter, the outletend discharging directly into the atmosphere, an air chamber encircling said nozzle, said nozzle vhaving an annular slot intermediate or" its ends constituting an air inlet from said air chamber to the nozzle, means for continuously delivering said material through Vsaid nozzle past said slot,

and controllable means Jfor admitting compressed air to said air cham- 10 Signed at of Queens and Long Island City in the County State of :New York this 22nd day of November A. D. 1922.

RICHARD F. DALTON. 

